Senior Technical Game Designer

Galaxy Grove is an Utrecht-based game studio behind Steam-games Station to Station (2023) and Town to City (2025). We are currently working on Steam to Electric and several exciting new titles. We are a team of ~30 people and specialise in 3D management and building games.

We are looking for a Senior Technical Designer who is a fan of the management game genre. You’ll bring together gameplay, tech, art and UI, all while keeping the player experience the top priority.

At Galaxy Grove a Technical Game Designer is above all a game designer: someone who always has the player experience in mind. Core elements of the job are designing features, UI/UX, onboarding in addition to balancing, playtesting and level design. What makes this role technical is that you’ll be implementing the user facing side of features such as the UI and gameplay interactions. You’ll always work with a C++ programmer who implements the core of a feature in C++.

For this role we are looking for someone who understands management games deeply. You need to be a fan of the genre and have played many of the genre defining games. Examples of management games include Cities Skylines, Planet Coaster, Manor Lords, Transport Fever, Anno, Two Point Museum, Timberborn and Frostpunk. In addition to playing management games, an additional plus is having experience designing management games.

You’ll also be involved in the games we make and the company as a whole. You’ll join playtests and share your ideas and thoughts for all of our games.

Galaxy Grove is an inclusive game studio where everyone with a passion for making great games is welcome. We believe in helping each other get better at our craft, in learning new skills, and in a healthy work-life balance where overtime and crunch are avoided.

Responsibilities:

• Design systems and interactions
• Author the player experience
• Design and implement UI and UX
• Script using Unreal Blueprints
• Tweak the game’s balance and pacing
• Level design
• Implement audio and graphics
• Work closely together with C++ Programmers (as well as with other artists and designers)
• Organize and observe playtests
• Iterate on all aspects of the game
• Build the game within the Creative Director’s vision, while also being critical and questioning this vision to help create the best game possible

Requirements:

• An excellent feel for the player experience
• At least 5 years of professional experience creating games
• Has played a lot of management games over the years and still plays them regularly
• Proactive attitude
• Worked on at least one shipped title
• A deep understanding of UI/UX
• Experience with Unreal
• A strong communicator
• Fluent in English
• Doesn’t need a visa to work in the Netherlands (if you have an EU passport you don’t need a visa)
• Able to work 32-40 hours per week

Plusses:

• Expert-level Unreal experience
• Experience with C++
• Experience working on management games and adjacent genres (like RTS and 4X)
• Experience with mentoring or leadership

While we expect you to have a solid Unreal foundation, you do not need to be an Unreal expert. There will be time in the first weeks for you to learn whatever is needed.

If you think you could do the job but don’t meet some of the requirements, then we encourage you to apply anyway.

This is a hybrid position. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday you’ll work from the Galaxy Grove office in Utrecht. The other days you can either work from home or from the office, depending on your preference. You should only apply if you are able and willing to physically work at the office on those office days. Must be able to work in the Netherlands without a visa.

To apply, please send an email to jobs@galaxy-grove.com.

Please include:

• A link to your extensive portfolio, showing the quality of your best work, but also the diversity of your skills
• CV
• Cover letter, telling us a bit about yourself, your background, your passions and why you’re excited about this role